12/08/2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is opening in a few weeks and it's the perfect time to guess which characters are going to be my favorites. Obviously, this list is subjective and based on a complete guess from the interviews and trailers.

10. BB-8

The first official female robot, BB-8 is supposed to be the big breakout hit of the movie.

"We always saw BB-8 as a naughty puppy or a very clever little child," says Neal Scanlan, chief of creature and droid effects. "They know how to be coy, how to be cute, how to sulk, how to pull at heartstrings to get what they want."

She looks funny, feisty and full of energy. Plus, who doesn't love a rolling robot?

9. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac)

According to Isaac, he's supposedly the "best freakin' pilot in the galaxy". He's Guatemalan-American, so he's got that Latin lover feel to him. 35-year-old Isaac has teased that his character is on a mission for a "certain princess" and his fate becomes "intertwined" with Finn's.

I haven't seen any clips of him that make him cool, but who doesn't love a good pilot?

8. Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o)

We don't know much about her character, but we know a few things. We know Kanata has "lived over a thousand years" and is a pirate. We've seen pictures of her bar which are full of "travelers, smugglers, and other assorted riff-raff."

What's impressive about her are the quotes we've heard in the trailers. At one point she says, "Dear child! The longing you seek is not behind you, it is in front of you." Sage advice.

She'll be a CGI character and may be the one handing Luke Skywalker's lightsaber to someone.

7. Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie)

The minute I heard about a chrome plated trooper we got excited. When I found it the Stormtrooper is a woman we got, even more, excited. There isn't a single female villain in the Star Wars universe and she gets to wear the coolest armor ever.

Some complained that her armor doesn't look feminine because it's not pink and doesn't have "boob armor". In response the social media manager of Star Wars said, "It’s armor. On a woman. It doesn’t have to look feminine."

6. Rey (Daisy Ridley)

The newest female lead is a scavenger on the desert planet Jakku. She's a self-made woman and can fight her own battles in the tradition of Princess Leia. She even saves Finn from certain death.

Ridley said, "She's completely self-sufficient and does everything for herself until she meets [Finn] and an adventure begins." Sounds good to me.

5. General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher)

Who doesn't love Princess Leia? She's bold, brash and beautiful even today. We don't know her marital status since she decided not to take her birth name of Skywalker. She's going by her adopted name of Organa.

What her name does say is that she's an officer and a general. After Return of the Jedi, she's described as "a little more battle weary, a little more broken hearted." Perhaps by Han?

Fisher says Leia is "solitary. Under a lot of pressure. Committed as ever to her cause, but I would imagine feeling somewhat defeated, tired, and pissed." Also, she has more control over the force. Leia with a lightsaber perhaps? Yes!

4. Han Solo

That "scruffy-looking nerfherder" is back as Han Solo. Harrison Ford still has that Han Solo swagger. Frankly, it's surprising he's in the movie at all considering how much he hated on Star Wars over the years.

Ford said Han "does not aspire to the position of Obi-Wan, nor do I aspire to be some New Age Alec Guinness. His development is consistent with the character, and there are emotional elements which have occasioned his growth ... There's a lot of the rogue still left in Solo. Some things don't change."

We're glad to have him back.

3. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill)

Anakin Skywalker is the star of the prequels, but Luke Skywalker is the star of the original films. He's kind and giving. Plus he wore an awesome black cloak. If he hadn't been included in the movie it would have been awful. But what's he doing in the film?

We have no idea since he's been left out of every piece of promotional video and photo. That's also what makes his role in the film so cool. He's shrouded in mystery and that's the way they want it. Director J.J. Abrams stated: "They'd be as old and as mythic as the tale of King Arthur. They would be characters who they may have heard of, but maybe not. They'd be characters who they might believe existed, or just sounded like a fairy tale."

2. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver)

Darth Vader is the greatest Star Wars villain of all time, but Kylo Ren could give him a run for his money.

Adam Driver plays a dark warrior who's strong with the Force and a former member of the "Knights of Ren". He's commander of the "First Order" which is kind of like the Empire 2.0. He's got a strange lightsaber, but it still looks amazing. I'm on the fence about the mask.

1. Finn (John Boyega)

One of the first characters we see in the trailers is "the Black stormtrooper" Finn. He's a former First Order stormtrooper. That makes him a lot like Luke who wanted to join the Empire at the beginning of the first movie.

He's a bold and daring new character in the Star Wars universe. Not just because he's Black. It's because he's a young man who's following the path from a villain to a hero. He's learning about aa new world just like we are. Boyega said, "He's been taught about [Luke], he knows about his history. For him it's like joining the army and then learning about one of the great enemies of your country."

Plus, he's got Luke's lightsaber. Game on.

Who's your favorite Star Wars: The Force Awakens Character? Please be mindful of our comment policy when making comments. Abusers will have comments deleted and may be banned

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